Antoinette Nwandu to Receive Vineyard Theatre's 2017 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award

Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announced today that Antoinette Nwandu (PASS OVER) is the recipient of Vineyard Theatre's 2017-2018 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award.

Ms. Nwandu will be presented with the award at The Vineyard's annual Emerging Artists Luncheon on Thursday, November 9 from noon-2:30pm at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) in Manhattan. Paula Vogel will speak at the event.

Antoinette Nwandu is the tenth recipient of Vineyard Theatre's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, named in honor of playwright and teacher Paula Vogel, whose plays INDECENT (Tony Award nomination), HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME premiered at The Vineyard. The residency-based award is given each year to an emerging writer of exceptional promise and comes with a cash prize, work space, dramaturgical support, and collaborative resources to develop new work. Previous recipients of the award include Kate Tarker (LAURA AND THE SEA), Boo Killebrew (MILLER, MISSISSIPPI), Clare Barron (DANCE NATION), Christopher Chen (CAUGHT), Erika Sheffer (RUSSIAN TRANSPORT), Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (GLORIA), Kara Lee Corthron (WELCOME TO FEAR CITY), Rajiv Joseph (THE NORTH POOL), and Tarell Alvin McCraney (WIG OUT!).

Antoinette Nwandu is a New York-based playwright via Los Angeles. In June, Steppenwolf presented the World Premiere of her play PASS OVER which sparked a national conversation about bias in critical responses. Her play BREACH will receive a World Premiere at Victory Gardens in February 2018, and she is currently under commission from Echo Theater Company and Colt Coeur. Antoinette's plays have been supported by the Sundance Theater Lab, MacDowell, the Cherry Lane Mentor Project (mentor: Katori Hall), Kennedy Center, Page73, Ars Nova, PlayPenn, Space on Ryder Farm, Southern Rep, The Flea, Naked Angels, Fire This Time, and The Movement Theater Company. Honors include spots on the 2016 and 2017 Kilroys lists, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, the Negro Ensemble Company's Douglas Turner Ward Prize, and a Literary Fellowship at the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Antoinette is an alum of the Ars Nova Play Group, the Naked Angels Issues PlayLab, and Dramatists Guild Fellowship. Additional honors include being named a Ruby Prize finalist, PONY Fellowship finalist, Page73 Fellowship finalist, NBT's I Am Soul Fellowship finalist, and two-time Princess Grace Award semi-finalist. Education: Harvard, The University of Edinburgh, Tisch School of the Arts.

The Vineyard's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is made possible through the generosity of The Tournesol Project.

The Emerging Artists Luncheon celebrates Vineyard Theatre's commitment to cultivating talent. From local Union Square public high school students to next year's Tony Contenders, artistic development and education programs provide artists with support and resources to develop new plays and musicals, as well as offering free in-school and after school theatre arts programs that culminate in the REBEL VERSES: YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL hosted by The Vineyard in partnership with Developing Artists. The Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is presented annually, and the Susan Stroman Directing Award biennially.

Tables for the Emerging Artists Luncheon are $2,500/$5,000 (premium seating and in-event signage recognition) and individual tickets are $250/$500. For more information about the event, please contact Jessie Pitluk at 646-931-4727 or email development@vineyardtheatre.org. For more information about Vineyard Theatre, visit www.vineyardtheatre.org.

Celebrating its 35th Anniversary Season, Vineyard Theatre is committed to creating an artistic home for daring and diverse artists, nurturing their unique voices, and engaging our audiences and community by producing work that pushes the boundaries of what theatre can be and do. The Vineyard is dedicated to the development and production of daring new plays and musicals and has consistently premiered provocative, groundbreaking works, including Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman's INDECENT, which premiered on Broadway this past season, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Pulitzer Prize-finalist GLORIA, which transferred to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago last January; DOT by Colman Domingo; Nicky Silver's THE LYONS; Marx, Lopez and Whitty's Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q; Kander and Ebb's THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS; Bell and Bowen's [title of show]; Paula Vogel's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (1998 Pulitzer Prize); Edward Albee's THREE TALL WOMEN (1994 Pulitzer Prize); Tarell Alvin McCraney's WIG OUT!; Becky Mode's FULLY COMMITTED; Jenny Schwartz' GOD'S EAR; Will Eno's MIDDLETOWN; and many more. The Vineyard's productions have been honored with two Pulitzer Prizes, five Tony Awards, and numerous Drama Desk, Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel awards.

The Vineyard Theatre's leadership includes Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern and Managing Director Suzanne Appel.

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